“What do I do if I close the door”… Self-employed’sighs’ despite 3 million won support

“It’s a good thing, but what if you give it to me after the store is destroyed?”

The government will release a 5 trillion won’third disaster subsidy’ next month, but the reaction of self-employed and small business owners is lukewarm. This is because the amount is not enough to solve the accumulated management difficulties, and there are limits to temporary support measures.

The government will pay 1 million to 3 million won in cash to small business owners and self-employed people in January next year. It is a method of collectively paying a damage subsidy of 1 million won to affected small business owners and self-employed persons, and an additional support of 1 million won for the collective restricted business and 2 million won for the prohibited collective business.

However, the business owners who suffered long-term business damage are not happy. Kim Mo, who had been running a coin karaoke room in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul for 3 years and closed a week ago, said, “I quit the company and did not know that it would be closed like this.” “He said.

He pointed out that the standards of the government’s quarantine guidelines were also ambiguous. Mr. Kim said, “When I look at the business that is prohibited from gathering for one year, I feel like’Which places to close first?’. I still don’t know why karaoke is not allowed even when cafes, bars, and PC cafes are finished. I just removed and pasted the official letter and repeated it,” he said.

Except for the business ban after 9 pm, the same sigh came out at the restaurant where the business was free. In particular, self-employed people, who have to pay a monthly rent of 2 to 3 million won, say, “It is difficult to say that it is not helpful, but it is still frustrating when considering the deficit of the past year.”

Lee Mo, who runs a restaurant on the first and second floors in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, “The damage has already grown like a snowball, and you have to pay monthly rent (3 million won on the first floor, 2.5 million won on the second floor). The government only supports up to 3 million won. I did, but I don’t know what will happen.”

There was also a storekeeper who supported the government’s response, saying that it was only the amount of money for a month’s rent, but it prevented only the first incident. Mr. Seo, who runs an indoor cannon near Dongguk University in Seoul, said, “I was expecting a special year-end, but recently, the order to ban a group of five people caused a disruption in business,” he said. “I thought about closing the business next month, but with government support, I think to see it.”

However, there are voices that long-term and sustainable measures are needed to return effective benefits to self-employed people. It is pointed out that the method of supporting 1 million to 3 million won collectively without considering the size, sales and business type of the store will not have fairness and will not be effective. There is also an opinion that there is a need for effective measures such as direct support for rent or deferment, as in overseas.

Park Mo, who runs a fitness center in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, said, “Will it end with money even when the corona does not disappear next year? Have you already experienced that temporary payment of money is not sustainable? “It’s just that.”

The Federation of Small Businessmen also said that additional follow-up measures such as rent support and tax benefits are needed. In a commentary the previous day, the Federation of Small Businessmen said, “In this measure, we will add 1 million won in the name of rental support, but this is less than a month’s rent. In Germany, we support up to 90% of the fixed cost to companies that close their doors. Japan also supports two-thirds of the rent for self-employed people for six months. Australia and Canada are also implementing rent reduction measures.”

The political world also emphasized that the support amount should be increased to support up to 5 million won. The People’s Power Policy Committee said on the 28th, “The measures to support small business owners proposed by the Democratic Party and the government are extremely insufficient and ineffective to help the painful reality.” 2% interest and exemption for 3 months should be implemented.”

Meanwhile, the business situation of self-employed people after Corona 19 is much more serious than expected. According to the recent sales of small business owners Lee Dong-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, based on the data submitted by Korea Credit Data, the sales of small business owners in Seoul in the 51st week of this year (December 14-20) were only 57% compared to the same period last year. This is similar to 51% in Daegu and 56% in Gyeongbuk in March.

There is no sign of a rebound. During the 1st and 2nd corona 19 epidemic period, sales recovered in 1~2 weeks as quarantine was successfully implemented, but the 3rd epidemic has continued its sales decline for 4 weeks.

Anxiety over closing of business is also rising. According to the Korea Food Service Industry Federation, out of 420,000 member businesses nationwide from January to August this year, 29903 were closed. In a survey conducted by the Federation of Small Businessmen last month on 1311 small businessmen, it was found that 7 out of 10 are considering closing their business.

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